We talk a lot about "sample size" when discussing statistics in sports these days, be they advanced or rudimentary. Every subset of data, every streak-in-the-making is subject to skepticism. Is it real, or just a bump in an otherwise smooth reality?

That's a natural and important question to ask in the wake of a three-game stretch by Brandon Jennings that defied pretty much every historical trend. Jennings, who ranks five points below average in assist rate among point guards averaging at least 20 minutes per game, has racked up more helpers in the past three games than any other player over an equivalent stretch this season. Whether you choose to speak in math or plain ol' American English, it's hard to call this development anything more than unlikely. So don't feel guilty if you haven't bought in to new-and-improved Brandon Jennings with all your heart. It's not bad fandom, it's being realistic.

But still...something is going on. Sample size considerations are key to any statistical analysis, but the magnitude of any deviation from the mean matters too. So when Jennings obliterated his previous career high in assists in consecutive games, then nearly matched it in a third, something was obviously at work, something that had previously been absent.